Whitstable Guitars
A selection of good quality, used guitars and specialising in imports from Japan since 2008
2018 Fender MIJ Hybrid 60's Telecaster 3 Tone Sunburst & New Hard Case
£769.00 + shipping
JAPAN IMPORT
I think that these Hybrid Telecasters are the best Telecasters that Fender in Japan have made yet. If I see one for sale in Japan, I order it every time. I have to be quick as there are a few other people who agree with me!
This guitar is a 60's telecaster whereas the others I have purchased have all been 50's style. I suppose the main differences with this guitar are that the body is Alder rather than Ash & the fretboard is Rosewood rather than Maple which also means that there is no "skunk stripe" at the back of the neck. The finish is a traditional 3 Tone Sunburst and it has a 60's style 8 hole pickguard rather than the 5 hole ones on the 50's style. Other than that I think they are pretty much the same. Same pickups, switching, locking tuners, bridge, saddles
This Tortoiseshell pickguard is a replacement by the previous owner. The original would have been white and was not included. Personally I prefer the Tortoiseshell. As you can see in the gallery photos, some additional holes were made in doing this. They have been filled and obviously none of this can be seen with the pickguard on. Also on the gallery photos is photo showing some marks where there was a dent on the top edge near the strap pin which I have repaired and can barely be seen. I suppose as the guitar is now 5 years old it will have a few marks but overall the guitar is excellent
They were available in very limited numbers in the UK at around £1000-£1100 supplied with a thin gig bag as an FSR or "Factory Short Run" model but everywhere seems to be sold out now. Probably because they are so good.
In short, Fender has taken classic models, 50's Teles & Strats, 60's Teles & Strats & Jazzmasters & adapted them with some modern tweaks whilst retaining the classic looks. In the case of this 60s Telecaster, it still has the Alder body, 3 ply 8 hole pickguard & a Maple neck and Rosewood fretboard but it also has a 9.5" Radius fretboard instead of a 7.25", medium jumbo frets, a satin finish to the neck rather than gloss, locking tuners, a set of Fender USA Vintage '58 Pickups & a 4 way switch giving an "in series" option with switching.
For me, the best features on this guitar are the 9.5" fretboard radius, the USA pickups with the 4 way switch which I find really useful for soloing & the locking tuners which do exactly what they're supposed to do. At 3.53kg it's a well balanced guitar too. The price also includes a new £65.00 hard case making it a good deal.
An excellent player & superb looker. This Tele really ticks all the boxes for me and I can't see it hanging around for very long.
Specifications
Body
Series: Fender MIJ (Made in Japan)
Body Colour: 3 Tone Sunburst
Body Material: Alder
Body Finish: Polyester
Neck
Neck Material: Maple
Neck Finish: Satin Polyurethane
Neck Shape: U Shape
Neck Plate: 4-Bolt
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5'' (250mm)
No. of Frets: 21 (Medium Jumbo)
Position Inlays: White Dots
Scale Length: 25.5'' (648mm)
Weight: 3.53kg
Hardware and Electronics
Nut Material: Bone
Nut Width: 1.675'' (42.5mm)
Tuning Machines: Vintage-Style Locking
Bridge: 3-Saddle, Strings-Through-Body Tele with Brass Saddles
Pick-Guard: Single Ply Black
Neck Pickup: American Vintage '58 Single-Coil Tele
Bridge Pickup: American Vintage '58 Single-Coil Tele
Pickup Switching: 4-Position Blade, Position 1 – Bridge Pickup, Position 2 - Bridge and Neck Pickups (in parallel), Position 3 – Neck Pickup, Position 4 – Neck and Bridge Pickups (in series)
Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
Control Knobs: Chrome (Dome Style)
Hardwear Finish: Chrome
Case included: Thomann Black rectangular hard case
All in all it's an excellent guitar from Fender in Japan that you probably won't find here in the UK
Hard Case
As said many times, all my guitars come shipped in a new black hard case which is included in the price. I find this is the safest way to avoid damage in transit. This case is a nice new fitted one from Thomann in Germany. Alternatively, if you are collecting the guitar and, like some buyers have cases coming out of their ears, that's no problem, I'll adjust the price (usually around a £30 discount) and I can usually find you an old gigbag to take the guitar away in. The only hard and fast rule I have is that i won't ship a guitar in a gigbag
If you are further interested in this guitar, you can either email me with any queries & I'll do my best to get back to you within 24 hours.
Or, you can buy quickly and safely using the PayPal "buy now" button and I will ship to most UK addresses the next working day. Highlands and Islands can be slightly dearer but I'll keep the cost as low as I can.
I can accept credit card payments by phone and will also offer a small discount to purchasers using bank transfer payments.
Overseas customers are very welcome but please email me first for shipping quotes.
